The Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft was launched in the early morning of the 15th at China’s Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan Province.
At 5:34 a.m., the Long March-7 Yao-10 carrier rocket carrying the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft ignited and launched at China’s Wenchang Space Launch Site. About 10 minutes later, the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft successfully separated from the rocket and entered its planned orbit. Afterwards, the spacecraft's solar panels unfurled smoothly.
After entering orbit, the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft successfully completed status configuration. At 8:52 a.m., it docked with the rear port of the Tianhe core module of the space station. After the rendezvous and docking were completed, Tianzhou-9 transitioned into the combined flight phase.
According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft is loaded with astronaut in-orbit consumables, propellant, and materials for application and (testing) experiments.
Subsequently, the Shenzhou-20 astronaut crew will enter the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft and carry out cargo transfer and related tasks as planned.
This mission is the fourth cargo resupply mission since the Chinese manned space program entered the space station application and development phase. It is the 36th launch mission since the project’s initiation, as well as the 584th flight for the Long March series of carrier rockets.